Filling your raised beds the right way

Many gardeners use raised beds instead of planting in ground. There are several benefits to raised beds such as being able to control the quality of the soil, its easier on the back, and some feel it’s more aesthetically pleasing. For me I have hard clay soil and while we could amend it that would have taken several seasons to get it where I wanted it and I was too eager to get my garden going when we moved to this property. 

Remember that a raised bed is basically a container, and should be filled with a potting mix, as you would a container. 

To fill raised beds I recommend the rule of thirds. Mix a third of the following ingredients:

1. Screened topsoil
2. Compost (either a traditional compost or Worm Compost)
   
3. Coconut coir 
   

If your beds are tall you can fill the very bottoms with leaves, sticks, and cardboard to save money. You can reserve the top half of the beds for the compost and coconut coir as a money saving measure.